Former Padres catcher Francisco Mejia has played several roles in his major league career: prospect, backup catcher, free agent. Soon Mejia will wear another hat for the first time: non-roster invitee.
Mejia recently signed a minor league contract with the Angels that includes an invitation to spring training, according to reporter Miriam Luz.
In Anaheim, Mejia will slot into a depth chart that includes Logan O’Hoppe and Matt Thaiss, who split the majority of catching duties last season. The Angels also recently re-signed veteran backup Chad Wallach to a minor league deal.
Of course, fighting for playing time on a crowded depth chart is nothing new for Mejia. The Padres acquired him in July 2018 from Cleveland for relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. At the time, the Padres were out of contention and looking to rebuild for 2019.
Mejia, still just 23 at the time, had a chance to become the catcher of the future in San Diego. That never materialized. The same switch-hitting bat that made him a top-20 prospect in MLB struggled with greater exposure. He slashed .229/.282/.398 over parts of the next three seasons.
As Austin Hedges and Austin Nola got the lion’s share of at-bats in San Diego, Mejia wore out his welcome. Besides his bat, being a poor framer didn’t help Mejia’s chances of sticking around long-term.
Mejia was 25 when the Padres traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays in Dec. 2020 in the package that yielded Blake Snell. While Mejia continued to struggle with the Rays, Snell went 29-25 with a 3.15 ERA over the next three seasons, winning the NL Cy Young award in 2023.
A free agent for the first time at 28, Mejia will return to Southern California to join his fourth franchise. He’s a career .239/.284/.394 hitter over parts of seven seasons.
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